Sony vegas war picture

[star striker]

I wast quite sure which section to post it in

this was the first time i ever used sony vegas and this is the end result.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8oAErzOvLc"]YouTube- ANZAC Day Korean War Film[/ame]

im quite proud of it apart from the exposure but i had only bought the camera a week beforhand

i was quite surprised with how easy sony vegas pro 9 was to pick up.
i would usually edit with a mate who uses final cut pro and although he is good at it i could never really get in to that programe.

i hadnt edited anything myself for 3 years and with in an hour of using vegas i was pretty confident.

any feedback or tips would be great

thanks

[Slacker George]

Fantastic job.

I loved the ramping up of the tension. The sound effects were excellent. Nice flying dirt too.

I think you overused the effect starting at 2:16 with the medic. It's good, but only for the closeups between the medic and the injured soldier. Dial it back, then off, when they start to carry the soldier away, and bring up the sound. Or alternatively, just end the scene with the medic and the soldier with that cool effect and the sound down low.

[oddmanil]

Very good

If you didn't, I should shoot in CineMode, to preserve more of the details in the burned out white.

Then use Sharpen - medium, if you want videolook.

[star striker]

cool, thanks for your feedback and the tips.
im in new zealand and weve got the 48 hour film competition comming up this weekend. hopfully we will get war for aour genre, that would be fun and a challenge.

[drapeama]

Nice job on this short!
Yyou should think getting in our actual contest.

[Daniel Rutter]

I would SERIOUSLY suggest you invest in some muzzle flashes, because without them... I fail to believe that you're really shooting those guns. Try http://www.videocopilot.net/products/action2/ or if you can't spare the cash/wait that long for the effects, try http://www.detonationfilms.com/Stock_Directory.html for freebies. They're not great, but they'll definitely help

That said, I'm interested to know where you got your guns... are they real?
The smoke effects looked pretty real too, was that done in post?

[drapeama]

Just to reply over Daniel! (kidding) i'll suggest FxHome EffectsLab Pro for 149$.
Take a look at the video demo, they're realistic and you can adjust them 360° to any angle in your footage.
Sure what Daniel suggested is a bit cheaper, but, as i said, it's a suggestion. I own it and i can tell you, it worth it.

[Daniel Rutter]

Just to reply over Daniel! (kidding) i'll suggest FxHome EffectsLab Pro for 149$.

Dammit Drap! Always undermining me, why I orta....

Seriously though, Detonation films has blood splatter and everything for free... which will help sell that 'omfg I've been shot' thing that you have there (and everyone loves to see some blood spray!) as well as your muzzle flashes

[star striker]

yeh i know what you mean.
i downloaded the trial version of that effects lab programe and tested it out but obviously when i rendered it all it had the company logo pasted over top (i knew this would happen i was just hoping for a surprise that it wouldnt come up)

i didnt remember the detenation films website until after the 30 day trial of vegas had been used up. so now im just saving to buy it.

as for the guns (im no expert)
-two were those 22' type rifles.
-the machine gun was cheap and plastic from a toy shop
-and the rest were made from wood and then painted.

and the smoke was real too. some of it came from roman candles that you see in a few shots.
we did the explosions by placing ash on a plank of wood and then stepping on the other end thus flinging it all in the air.

we made another war type film for a film competition.
Its kind of cheesy in parts but we still enjoyed making it

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o2WDcaYCvg"]YouTube- People of the Mist[/nomedia]



i filmed it with my first ever camera a sony digital 8 handicam

[drapeama]

...after the 30 day trial of vegas had been used up. so now im just saving to buy it.
we did the explosions by placing ash on a plank of wood and then stepping on the other end thus flinging it all in the air.
i filmed it with my first ever camera a sony digital 8 handicam

1- You could get the Platinum edition of Vegas for 89$, i guess it would be enough to start with...
2- Clever idea, for great results!
3- Still got mine, DCR TRV-340, and i'll probably use it again soon!

[star striker]

Yeh ive got a DCR-TRV355.
I still really like it, its a bit hard to tell from the video quality cause the contest organisers uploaded the video, but i used the "flash" function in the camera menu to make the black and white segments look more filmic. they turned out looking really good.

[Bif]

Just a word on muzzle flash. Rarely do you see any out of long guns except at night (or in Hollywood). Sometimes you'll see a very slight amount of smoke or just a very slight distortion like a mini heat shimmer, most of the time...nothing (although one notable exception is with action pistol match shooters who reload with Unique gunpowder, a quite dirty burning powder that produces some light smoke).

And again in daylight you see no muzzle flash from most handguns (Hollywood productions again being the exception).

For duty and combat purposes most gunpowder is blended to eliminate both muzzle flash and smoke, but sometimes at night some shots may exhibit a bit of muzzle flash depending on barrel length.

I make a training video in support of the Defensive Handgun Course I teach and a bit of it is at night and what flash we see is generally either from short barreled weapons.

[drapeama]

Thanks for the input Bruce, i'll spend less time in muzzleflash in my next short.

[Daniel Rutter]

I make a training video in support of the Defensive Handgun Course I teach and a bit of it is at night and what flash we see is generally either from short barreled weapons.

Would you link me to your youtube/Vimeo vids on this please? I'm attempting to make an action film and I desperately want the whole thing to look 'real' (as in, Muzzle flashes, shell ejection etc...). Any input from a professional would be awesome!

[KingDucky]

You could get the Platinum edition of Vegas for 89$,

I can vouch for this. The DVD authoring program is great as is the free sound forge.

I bought this(Vegas platinum) because I love Vegas and it was cheap. It's realllllllyy good for the price you can get it at.

[Bif]

Thanks for the input Bruce, i'll spend less time in muzzleflash in my next short.

It doesn't really "hurt anything" to add it, Hollywood has done it so much we expect it. It does become visible in low light from short barrels. One training video from Wilson Combat went into extensive night time comparisons of muzzle flash from different powders and loads out of a few commonly "carried" handguns.

They were trying to sell Wilson Combat produced low flash "carry" loads.

[Bif]

Would you link me to your youtube/Vimeo vids on this please? I'm attempting to make an action film and I desperately want the whole thing to look 'real' (as in, Muzzle flashes, shell ejection etc...). Any input from a professional would be awesome!

I don't have anything sitting there right now but I'll go back to some video from what I put my current disk together from. It will include some actual surveillance video from an attempted robbery where muzzle flash does show in the motel lobby. A Glock 27, .40S&W which is a high pressure load and is more prone to muzzle flash. A Glock 17 in daylight (no muzzle flash) and a Colt Commander .45ACP and Glock 19 both at night.

Take me a few days to do. It will all be in SD not HD.

[Daniel Rutter]

Take me a few days to do. It will all be in SD not HD.

No problems mate. PM me the links... I also would like to know if a 9mm Baretta 92F would have excessive muzzle flash as well? Also, I'm guessing the 'Colt Commander' is a form of 1911?

[Bif]

I make a training video in support of the Defensive Handgun Course I teach and a bit of it is at night and what flash we see is generally either from short barreled weapons or "hot" loads.

Would you link me to your youtube/Vimeo vids on this please? I'm attempting to make an action film and I desperately want the whole thing to look 'real' (as in, Muzzle flashes, shell ejection etc...). Any input from a professional would be awesome!

Here's a few clips from the DVD I give my students instead of a "handbook". This is not HD, it's been shot with a Sony Handycam miniDV, the "Surprise At The ATM" with a Sony Digital8, and the "Lasers" segment with a Panasonic PV GS500. But it does show no muzzle flash in daylight and variable at night. You have to let it buffer all the way through before it will play.

http://www.camcorderuser.net/MGalleryItem.php?id=231

[drapeama]

That's just AWESOME Bruce!
Thanks for sharing this! I'll try to make my next "use of a weapon" the most reaslistic as possible, according to what i just saw, in my next short!
Just learned a lot in this video!
Do you have some other "tactical training" video somewhere? maybe for sale? I'd be interested.

[star striker]

Here is the updated version of the same film with a new title, new introduction and original music.
i also experimented with a few effects from the detonation films website (i just used sony vegas to put them in, i dont have a special effects programe)



again would be great to hear peoples thoughts

hope you enjoyed and thanks again

[Daniel Rutter]

Now that looks so much better with flashes. One thing I would suggest, is trim those to less than a second long... some of them hold a little too long.

Dirt puffs were great, the blood hits were... passable

You made use of Detonation Films free stuff. You may also want to check out their recent HD uploads... could work in your favor

[mark84j]

Good work, sir.

One thing I have to compliment on is your choice of music and when you decided to use it.